Deodhar Trophy 2023 Highlights, Round 5: Sudharsan ton helps South Zone beat Central by 7 wickets; East pips West to enter final

South Zone beats Central Zone by seven wickets and what a fabulous performance this has been from Sai Sudharshan. The Mayank Agarwal-led side has already qualified for the final and will play against East Zone on Thursday and this knock will be a confidence booster for Sudharshan. Not to forget the contribution from Washington Sundar as the Tamil Nadu cricketers seal the deal in style. Sudharshan finishes unbeaten on 132 from 136 balls and Washington scored an unbeaten 43 off 58 balls as South Zone remains the only side to remain unbeaten in this tournament so far.

South Zone needs 27 runs in 30 balls with a well-set Sai Sudharshan at the crease. The opener along with Washington Sundar will look to close out the run chase quickly and carry their bats through.

A brilliant century from Sai Sudharsan as the opener has put South Zone in command with a scintillating knock. Sudharsan along with Washington Sundar forged an unbeaten half-century stand to bring the 200 up for South Zone and the side is cruising towards the target of 262. Sudharsan gets to his century with a single off Karn Sharma and he got to the landmark in just 111 balls. Wonderful knock.

After 33 overs, South Zone is ahead of Central Zone in terms of runs as the latter was 156 for the loss of three wickets and went on to post 261/9. Sai Sudharsan is nearing his century and has got the support of Washington Sundar at the other end. The run-rate is not an issue as South is going at 5.17 against the required rate of 5.38 and it has still got seven wickets in hand. Central needs to pick wickets to get back into the game.

Karn Sharma gets the breakthrough as he breaks the stand by removing Rohit Rayudu who skipped down the track and tried to play the big shot against the turn but completely missed the ball and got stumped. Rayudu departs for a 48-ball 37. Washington Sundar is the new man in and the southpaw joins Sai Sudharsan, who has been in terrific form this evening. He brings the 150 up for South with a fierce square cut and with a single retains the strike.

Sai Sudharsan hits a brilliant half-century in 56 balls and has anchored the chase for South Zone. The opener along with Rohit Rayudu has stabilised the ship after the fall of Jagadeesan and holds the key in the chase of 262.

Central strikes again and this time Venkatesh Iyer traps N Jagadeesan and that’s a huge wicket. Jagadeesan falls for a 21-ball 19 as the batsman tried to whip the full-length delivery across the stumps but missed it completely and got struck in the crease as the umpire had no hesitation in raising his finger.

Central Zone strikes and it’s Yash Thakur who has provided the breakthrough by removing Rohan Kunnummal who falls for a 27-ball 24 with Sarwate taking a good catch. The half-century stand is broken as N. Jagadeesan makes his way to the middle. A batsman who was unstoppable during the Vijay Hazare Trophy slamming five centuries.

Kunnummal and Sudharsan have forged a half-century stand in 48 deliveries with Kunnummal scoring a run a ball 23 and Sudharsan contributing 26 off 25 deliveries. Six boundaries have been hit so far and a maximum as South is going strong in pursuit of 262.

Kunnummal and Sudharsan have given South Zone a sedate start in the chase of 262. Shivam Mavi is steaming in with an aim to provide an early breakthrough. South skipper Mayank Agarwal is on the sidelines nursing an ankle injury.

Rohan Kunnumal and Mayank Agarwal open as South Zone look to chase the 262-run target to remain unbeaten in the tournament. Shivam Mavi with the new ball for Central Zone. An injury worry in the first over for Mayank as he clutches his ankle. Physio in to have a look. Looks like the South Zone captain is unable to continue.

A late cameo by Shivam Mavi takes Central Zone to 261/9 in its 50 overs. After a flurry of wickets following Yash Dubey’s 77, Mavi and Saransh put up a fifty partnership that has ensured the team have a competitive total on the board against the table toppers.

Central Zone 261/9 in 50 overs

Wicket!! Mavi tries to loft a low full toss outside off-stump down the ground, only manages to find Sai Sudharsan at long off. Brilliant cameo from Mavi though to take Central to a competitive total.

Shivam Mavi 38(22) ct B Sai Sudharsan b Arjun Tendulkar

Central Zone 246/9 in 47.5 overs

Wicket!! Saransh is dismissed trying to hook a slightly shorter ball over square-leg. Brings the fifty-partnership between the two to an end.

Saransh Jain c Koushik V b V Vyshak 23(19)

Shivam Mavi has started teeing off towards the end of the innings. Twenty seven runs have been scored off the last two overs, bowled by Redkar and Tendulkar.

Shivam Mavi 25(15), Saransh Jain 22(17)

Saransh Jain and Shivam Mavi take Central past 200 in 44 overs. The duo will be looking to bat out the last six overs and take Central to a fighting total.

Central Zone 202/7 in 44 overs

Wicket!! Tendulkar picks up a wicket in his second spell. Dubey is caught after a good innings of 77. Was short and wide, Dubey cuts it straight to backward point.

Yash Dubey 77(99) ct B Sai Sudharsan b Arjun Tendulkar

Wicket!! Karn tries to swivel pull a slightly shorter ball, only manages a top edge which is caught by Washington at slip.

Karn Sharma 3(9) ct Washington Sundar b Mohit Redkar

Central Zone 181/6 in 40.2 overs

Wicket!! The Central Zone skipper goes for another low score. Redkar gets his second wicket, this time a caught and bowled.

Venkatesh Iyer 2(9) ct & b Mohit Redkar

Central Zone 171/5 in 37 overs

Wicket!! Off-spinner Redkar gets the dangerman Rinku. Was slightly full and turned past Rinku’s defensive shot onto his back leg.

Rinku Singh 26(36) lbw Mohit Redkar

Central Zone 167/4 in 34.4 overs

Wicket!! And that will be it. Harvik is caught at 92. East cruises into finals of the Deodhar Trophy. Panchal especially came to bat for Harvik to get to his hundred. He’s being carried off the field, helped by some East players.

H Desai 92(92) ct Subhransu Senapati (Sub) b Utkarsh Singh

West Zone 162/10 in 34 overs.

East Zone win by 157 runs.

Central Zone 142/3 in 29 overs

Yash Dubey 54(68), Rinku Singh 14(17)

Sahil: Priyank Panchal is coming into bat at number 11. He’s meeting his opening partner Harvik. Looks like the ankle has healed enough for him to bat.

Yeah, he’s not fully fit. Isn’t able to move his feet.

Wicket!! Fifer for Murasingh! Nagwaswalla is caught behind for 5. East Zone one wicket away from qualifying for the final of the Deodhar Trophy.

A Nagwaswalla 5(9) ct Kumar Kushagra b M B Mura Singh

West Zone 150/9 in 31 overs

Wicket!! Sijomon Joseph breaks the partnership. Upendra Yadav ran down the track to hit down the ground, but the ball spins past him and Jagadeesan takes the bails off.

Upendra Yadav 26(37) ct N Jagadeesan b Sijomon Joseph

Wicket!! Utkarsh Singh breaks the partnership. Friday’s hero Atit Sheth departs. Hangargekar is caught and bowled first ball.

A Sheth 18(32) ct Saurabh Tiwary b Utkarsh Singh

R S Hangargekar 0(1) ct & b Utkarsh Singh

West Zone 141/8 in 28 overs

Yash Dubey and Upendra Yadav combine for a fifty-run partnership.

Central Zone 98/2 in 21 overs

Yash Dubey 33(48), Upendra Yadav 19(24)

Sahil: Man of the moment Riyan Parag is here to bowl. He starts off with leg spin. Can he get another 4-fer?

West Zone 125/6 in 23 overs. Need 195 runs to win.

The opener continues his fine run in the tournament but West seems to be heading for the exit in the 2023 edition of the Deodhar trophy.

Harvik Desai 51 runs in 45 balls (9x4, 0x6)

West Zone 94/6

Wicket!! Harvik is the lone survivor here at the crease. West is six down. Shams Mulani just got out to a very good low diving catch by Easwaran.

Shams Mulani 12(26) ct A R Easwaran b Shahbaz

Sahil: First 14 overs have definitely gone East’s way. West is five down with not much batting to come to get to 320. Will need a special kind of innings by Harvik to get West close.

Wicket!! Shivam has to depart after a promising start. Nicks off V Koushik to the keeper Jagadeesan.

Shivam Chaudhary 34(34) ct N Jagadeesan b Koushik V

Central Zone 42/1 in 10 overs

Shivam Chaudhary 32(29), Yash Dubey 1(11)

Wicket! Dube has to depart for a duck. Murasingh picks up his fourth wicket. He has been splendid in his first spell. Grabs a brilliant return catch. West in big trouble. No update on Panchal yet if he’ll bat or not.

West Zone 52/5 in 10.5 overs

Shivam Dube 0(5) ct & b M B Mura Singh

West Zone 52/4, need 268 runs to win.

H Desai 30(26), S Dube 0(0)

Wicket!! Kaushik is trapped in front by Koushik. Played back to a fuller ball, misses and was plumb in front off the stumps.

Madhav Kaushik 6(21) lbw Koushik V

Wicket!! Brilliant catch by Parag at short mid wicket. A low catch diving in front. He gets Kathan out. Can’t do anything wrong today.

Kathan D Patel 0(7) ct Riyan Parag b M B Mura Singh

Wicket!! Manisankar Mura Singh cleans up Sarfaraz Khan. Good length but bounced a touch low for Sarfaraz’s liking and he gets out. Umpire waited to double check the no-ball but eventually he’s had to go back.

S N Khan 3(9) b M B Mura Singh

Wicket!! Tripathi’s run of low scores continue as he is trapped in front by Mura Singh. Looked like it could have been missing the stumps. Wasn’t happy with the umpire’s decision but has to go back to the pavilion.

R A Tripathi 0(7) lbw M B Mura Singh

Shivam Chaudhary and Madhav Kaushik open for Central Zone. Arjun Tendulkar with the new ball for South Zone. Five dots balls to start the over before Shivam goes down the ground with a big hit for six!

Wicket!! West Zone loses its first wicket after a brisk start. Samarth Vyas nicks off the the keeper off Akash Deep.

Samarth Vyas 12(12) ct Kumar Kushagra b Akash Deep

Harvik Desai and Samarth Vyas open for West Zone in chase of 320. Mura Singh with the new ball for East Zone.

Sahil from the venue: Priyank Panchal is undergoing scans. He twisted his right ankle while fielding. Samarth Vyas opening the batting in his place.

Central Zone Won the Toss & elected to bat

Central Zone Playing XI: Shivam Chaudhary, Madhav Kaushik, Yash Dubey, Venkatesh Iyer (C), Upendra Yadav, Rinku Singh, Saransh Jain, Aditya Sarvate, Karn Sharma, Shivam Mavi, Yash Thakur

South Zone Playing XI: Rohan Kunnumal, Mayank Agarwal (C), Sai Sudharsan, N Jagadeesan, Sijomon Joseph, Rohit Rayudu, Washington Sundar, Arjun Tendulkar, Mohit Redkar, V Koushik, V Vyshak

Sahil: 320 to win for West. Parag goes unbeaten, 102 in 68 balls. To put it into perspective - he hit his first boundary on the 26th ball he faced when he was still in his 20s.

East Zone 319/7 in 50 overs

Riyan Parag 102(68), Akash Deep 1(2)

Wicket!! Shahbaz is run out. He dived but a direct hit got him.

Shahbaz 7(2) Run Out Kathan D Patel

Second hundred of the tournament for Riyan Parag! A great knock by the youngster. And him running a quick double is exactly how he scored his runs.

Riyan Parag 100 runs in 66 balls (6x4, 5x6)

Wicket!! Kushagra is out. Excellent catch! Kathan Patel had to run and almost went out of the boundary while running.

Kumar Kushagra 53(47) ct Kathan D Patel b A Sheth

Sahil: Parag has been dropped on two consecutive deliveries. Both tough chances though. One on the boundary and other at short third

Riyan Parag 85(62), Kumar Kushagra 53(46)

Sahil: Both Parag and Kushagra have ran superbly well. The intent of running has changed in the last five overs. Quick singles and doubles have been the highlight here.

A fifty from Himanshu Rana and a solid 40 not out from Prabhsimran Singh take North Zone to an easy win versus North East Zone.

North Zone 102/1 in 12.5 overs

Himanshu Rana 52(33), Prabhsimran Singh 40(35)

Sahil: Parag gets to his fifty. Meanwhile Kumar Kushagra is smacking his way to fifty. Hit two sixes to end Shams Mulani’s spell.

East Zone 264/5 in 46 overs

Riyan Parag 58(52); Kumar Kushagra 50(43)

North Zone 74/1 in 10 overs; Need 28 runs to win.

Himanshu Rana 41(27); Prabhsimran Singh 24(24)

Sahil: Seems like Parag is preserving his energy for the final overs. Hit his first boundary in 26 balls. Hasn’t ran fast, lot of backfoot punches for single. And right on cue he hits two fours of Hangargekar.

East Zone 200/5 in 39.3 Overs

Wicket!! Early wicket for North East as opener Shubham Khajuria is run out.

Shubham Khajuria 6(9) Run Out Khrievitso

Wicket!! Three wickets for Shams Mulani. Saurabh Tiwary is out. Has been getting a lot of turn and the ball spun through the gates.

Saurabh Tiwary 13(28) b Shams Mulani

Wicket!! Marakande picks up his fourth as Lepcha is bowled. North East are all out for 101.

Lee Yong Lepcha 11(29) b Mayank Markande

Wicket!! Abhishek goes for one as Markande picks up his third wicket.

Abhishek 1(5) b Mayank Markande

Wicket!! Virat was looking solid after an early dropped chance. But Mulani gets him out bowled.

Virat Singh 42(52) b Shams Mulani

Wicket!! Markande picks up his second. Captain Langlonyamba is dismissed after a solid 36.

Langlonyamba M 36(69) ct Vaibhav G Arora b Mayank Markande

Wicket!! Rishav run out. Was no run there at all. Two wickets in a row for West.

Rishav Das 3(6) Run Out R A Tripathi

Wicket!! Fifty and out for Utkarsh. Gets out LBW after hitting Shams Mulani for two back to back fours.

Utkarsh Singh 50(52) lbw Mulani

Wicket!! North East is seven down. Imliwati is caught-behind off left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu.

Imliwati 12(20) ct Prabhsimran Singh b Nishant Sindhu

Sahil: Rahul Tripathi is into the attack for his off spin. Has been that kind of a wicket as well. Slow and low. However, with a certain drop in bowling quality, Tripathi has been taken for runs in this over.

East Zone 114/1 in 21 overs

100 up for East Zone! Utkarsh Singh gets to his fifty in 51 balls.

Sahil: Utkarsh has been untroubled for the most part of his innings and has reached his fifty. Should get a big one here.

Utkarsh Singh 50(51); Virat Singh 23(32)

Wicket!! The procession of wickets continues for North East. Rajkumar Rex Singh is bowled by Mayank Yadav.

Rex 1(3) b Mayank Yadav

Sahil: Drinks. Has been a tough start for West. The fielding has let them down in the first 15 overs. 3 missed opportunities/drops.

Wicket!! One brings two for North Zone. Kamsha Yangfo is trapped in front by Mayank Yadav.

Kamsha Yangfo 0(2) lbw Mayank Yadav

Wicket!! Mayank Yadav gets his first wicket!! Priyojit nicks one to Prabhsimran.

Priyojit K 1(8) ct Prabhsimran Singh b Mayank Yadav

Wicket!! The partnership is broken! Lerry is trapped in front by leg-spinner Markande. The change of bowling works.

Lerry 13(30) lbw Mayank Markande

Wicket!! Easwaran has to go! Breakthrough for West Zone! Short ball from Nagwaswalla and it seems Easwaran might have gloved it but he wasn’t happy at all with the umpire’s decision. He gestured it was his elbow guard.

A R Easwaran 38(43) ct H Desai b A Nagwaswalla

Brilliant powerplay for East Zone. The openers have put up a 50-run partnership at a fairly quick rate.

Sahil: The bounce has been a tiny bit uneven from the good length area. A few balls have kept low. Not much movement for the pacers.

Lerry and captain Langlonyamba have fought back after two early wickets. North continuing with its opening bowling combination of Arora and Dhawan till now.

Seems Priyank Panchal has twisted his ankle. He’s carried out of the ground for treatment.

Sahil, from the ground: Hard luck for Hangargekar there. Harvik dropped Easwaran who has otherwise looked solid. Could be a costly drop.

Wicket!! North East loses both its openers early. Palzor joins Thapa back in the dressing room after nicking one to Prabhsimran off Rishi Dhawan.

Palzor 10(18) ct Prabhsimran Singh b R R Dhawan

Solid start for East Zone. Easwaran has been the more aggressive of the two opening batters. Hangargekar proving to be slightly expensive in his opening spell.

Wicket!! Early jolt for North East as Ashish Thapa is dismissed for a duck by Vaibhav Arora.

Ashish Thapa 0(4) b Vaibhav G Arora

Palzor and Ashish Thapa open for North East. Vaibhav Arora with the first over of the day for North.

Easwaran and Utkarsh Singh at the crease for East Zone. Atit Sheth with the new ball. A sedate first over to begin proceedings in this crucial match. Just a single off it.

North East Zone has won the toss and opted to bat first.

North East Zone Playing XI: Ashish Thapa, Imliwati Letmur, Langlonyamba M (C), Kamsha Yangfo (wk), Khrievitso Kense, Lee Yong Lepcha, Lerry Sangma, Palzor Tamang, Priyojit Singh, Rex Singh, Abhishek Kumar

North Zone Playing XI: Himanshu Rana, Shubham Khajuria, Prabhsimran Singh, Nitish Rana (C), Mandeep Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Shubham Rohilla, Rishi Dhawan, Mayank Markande, Mayank Yadav, Vaibhav Arora

East Zone has won the toss and elected to bat first against West Zone.

East Zone Playing XI: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Utkarsh Singh, Virat Singh, Rishav Das, Saurabh Tiwary (C), Riyan Parag, Kumar Kushagra, Shahbaz, Mura Singh, Mukhtar Hussain, Akash Deep

West Zone Playing XI: Harvik Desai, Priyank Panchal (C), Rahul Tripathi, Samarth Vyas, Sarfaraz Khan, Kathan Patel, Shivam Dube, Shams Mulani, Atit Sheth, Rajvardhan Hangargekar, Arzan Nagwaswalla

Priyank Panchal’s West Zone will face Saurabh Tiwary’s East Zone in a round-five match — a virtual semifinal — of the Deodhar Trophy at the Cricket Association Puducherry Ground 2 on Tuesday.

West is coming off a dominating win over North Zone, catalysed by Shivam Dube and Kathan Patel’s unbeaten 138-run partnership. On the other hand, East lost its first game to South Zone on Sunday to set up a do-or-die encounter en route to the final.

East, with a net run rate of 0.914, is currently in second place. West Zone, with 0.642, is third after four rounds.

- Sahil Mathur

Read More: West Zone faces East Zone, winner to meet South in the final

Deodhar Trophy: Round 5 Matches and streaming details

• East Zone vs West Zone - 9 AM IST
• North Zone vs North East Zone - 9 AM IST
• South Zone vs Central Zone - 1:30 PM IST (Streamed on BCCI website and app)

Stay tuned through the day as we will give you all major scores and updates from the three Deodhar Trophy matches taking place in Pondicherry.